Considering his name is actually Charles Pic.. this article seems very iffy to me. There have been a lot of rumours regarding Pic replacing d’Ambrosio, but as ever in F1, i think we need to wait until practice in Australia next year :L.. or at least confirmation from the team

Given the money and connections Pic has behind him i’d expect him to get the drive. D’Ambrosio has been okay at times, pretty poor at others, but ultimately that’s not what matters. Pic’s family are insanely wealthy and have backed him all the way in the junior formulas. He has a brother, Arthur, who currently races FR 3.5 – scary to think what’s being pumped in to these kids’ racing careers.

Just out of curiosity, how is his name pronounced? Is it “pick” or “peek”?

Pic’s family are insanely wealthy and have backed him all the way in the junior formulas.

At the same time, @jholland, I think he’s ready for Formula 1. He collapsed at the end of the 2011 GP2 season, but he’s had decent results across the board and another season in GP2 isn’t going to teach him anything he doesn’t already know.

I hope these rumours aren’t true. It would be a shame for Virgin to drop D’Ambrosio. He performed decently (retired only twice due to mechanical problems) given the car performance and that his main objective in his rookie year was to finish the races and learn as much as possible about F1, plus he’s above his team-mate in the standings. He fully deserves another season in F1. I don’t see Pic perfoming better than D’Ambrosio, he’s gonna bring a lot of cash and will eventualy be replaced by a richer driver for 2013.

@Prisoner-Monkeys I agree, now was the time for him to make this move as he could have had a rubbish year in GP2 if he stayed. Look at Dani Clos: 4th in 2010, ninth this season. However there is something a bit rushed about his whole career. He jumped from FR 3.5 a year too soon – he should have done another year and won the thing. And lets not forget he’s always paid his way into mega equipment: Tech 1 in 3.5 and Addax in GP2. Things ill be a lot different in the Masrussia.

@Klaas Ultimately Virgin’s second seat is just a revolving door of half-decent, well-funded drivers. Going on GP2 results Pic is better than d’Ambrosio, who’s only ahead of Glock by dint of Timo having more mechanical issues.

They’ve a better driver than Pic or JdA in Robert Wickens but they can’t afford to run him.

@prisoner-monkeys
“they find someone who is consistent, they will stick with that driver” – D’Ambrosio has been very consistent, he finished most races (on places that correspond to the car performance) when he could just crash (like Grosjean did at Renault). He resembles Alguersuari – his first season was very quiet but once he got his grips on the car he started to show his teeth.

@Prisoner-Monkeys He has backers – Genii for one. He’s paid for that drive, finishing mid-table in GP2 didn’t earn him the drive. Some have likely pulled out during the year just as they did with di Grassi. You take them promising the exposure of F1 and then when they see what they get for their money – almost no exposure in the case of MVR – and they’ll start dropping off.